4 day Drop and Donate event

It has been a long, winter lockdown and with it, plenty of dark and dreary nights.  What is there to do when you’re fed up and you’ve run out of programmes to watch on Netflix? Sort out your cupboards, of course!

Many plumbers, electricians, builders and skip companies are declaring an increase in trade, as those that have been lucky to remain in employment are throwing their unspent wages and holiday cash into home refurbs and renovations.  Updated rooms and house extensions have meant that lots of people have been spending lockdown sorting and clearing, saving up their unwanted treasures for the day the charity shops re-open and desperate to be rid of the ever-increasing pile of bags and boxes in the corner.

As retailers and businesses across the country prepare to open their doors, staff at St Andrew’s Hospice are getting ready for an event they hope will bring those bags and boxes to their doors, as they too prepare to open Andy’s and St Andrew’s Hospice shops across the county.

The 4-day long ‘Donate and Drop’ will be taking place at two of the hospice’s retail outlets, on Wilton Road Industrial Estate and the Victoria Street furniture shop, near Lockhill roundabout.  From Tuesday, April 6, to Friday, April 9, both of these stores will be open from 10am to 4pm daily for contact-free donation drop-offs.

St Andrew’s Hospice Retail Operations Manager Sarah Playle said: “The shops will remain closed for browsing but those wanting to kindly donate their items to the hospice will be able to do so safely.  Simply pop along, park your car, empty your bags and boxes into the provided cages and we will do the rest!”

The Victoria Street and Wilton Road shops will be open to visitors in full on April 12, while most other St Andrew’s Hospice and Andy’s shops will reopen on April 13.

Sarah continued: “We are looking forward to getting the teams back together and the 4-day event will provide an opportunity for us to redistribute stock to our shops in time for reopening.

“We are also very much looking forward to giving a warm welcome to our customers, old and new, after such a difficult period for us all.”